The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

IT SEEMS THAT ONE NIGHT RAY ROWLAND, MY ROOMMATE AND A
HIGH SCHOOL BUDDY OF HIS WERE IN THE ROOM. SOMETHING
HAD HAPPENED ABOUT WHICH THEY FELT A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF
PRIDE, I GUESS. THE NEXT THING I SAW WAS RAY AND JERRY
APPROACHING EACH OTHER AS IF TO SHAKE HANDS. BUT WHAT
HAPPENED WAS DEFINITELY A HANDSHAKE IN THE NORMAL SENSE
OF THE WORD, ANYHOW. WITH THEIR RIGHT HANDS, THEY
TOUCHED THUMBS IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE TOPS OF THE HANDS
FACED EACH OTHER. THEN THE HANDS SWUNG AROUND AND THE
BOTTOMS TOUCHED, THUMBS STILL TOUCHING. UPON THE
RELEASE OF THE THUMBS, THE HANDS SLIPPED OFF EACH OTHER.
NEXT CAME A SNAP OF THE FINGERS, FOLLOWED BY A SLAP OF THE
RIGHT LEG. THE HAND THEN CAME UP TO THE MOUTH FOR A
SMALL AMOUNT OF MOISTURE ON THE MIDDLE FINGER TO BE
APPLIED TO THE SIDE OF THE HEAD ABOVE THE EAR.
I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY. I LAUGHED.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT ; DORMS

James Callow Keyword(s): SPITTLE

Date learned: 00-00-1967